


enough with the fake dating, already

by aebirdie



Series: happy spideytorch [1]
Category: Fantastic Four (Comicverse), Spider-Man (Comicverse)
Genre: M/M, actually wrote something happy for once
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-15
Updated: 2019-09-15
Packaged: 2020-10-18 19:41:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20644598
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aebirdie/pseuds/aebirdie
Summary: Peter and Johnny are dating but no one believes them





	enough with the fake dating, already

Johnny asked Peter to meet at the usual place, the usual way, letters lighting up the sky for everyone to see.

Johnny seemed nervous, when Peter got there, holding a box of pizza like it was going to explode. He wasn’t teasing Peter, or flying around, or threatening to burn Peter’s dinner. He was sitting down, like Sue had put him in time out but said he could choose where to go for it.

“Hey,” Peter said. “Please tell me you went to the right Ray’s, Flame Brain.”

Johnny rolled his eyes. “It’s the same pizza place, I don’t get how they’re different.”

“Quality, Johnny,” Peter argued. “It’s the _quality_.”

“It tastes the same.”

“All of your taste buds are burned off, or something,” Peter shot back, and he grabbed three slices stacking them as he rolled up his mask, exposing the bottom half of his face.

Johnny pulled his knees to his chest and watched Peter take his first bite.

It was the right Ra’s, Peter realized, and he set his pizza down determinedly. Maybe this wasn’t the right time for this, but there wasn’t a right time for anything, not with the life they lived. One of them was always busy, either with two clones, six arms, or being stuck in a creepy bug universe with no way out. But it was the right pizza.

“Is the pizza okay?” Johnny asked, and then Peter kissed him, and then Johnny kissed him _back_.

“You ruined my big plans, Pete,” Johnny mumbled.

“Shut up, Johnny,” Peter said, and then they kissed again, and again, and again. And then some more, just for practice.

-

“So, I was thinking, we could tell everyone we’re dating,” Johnny said, their hands intertwined as they sat close on Peter’s dingy couch. They had been official boyfriends for two months, which really meant two months of Johnny sneaking out to go over to Peter’s apartment and sneak back in at four am. Sue had caught him once, but he had lied and said that he was out at a club with Wyatt. Sue had believed him, luckily, and then she asked if he was _seeing_ Wyatt. He had pretended to not hear her.

“You sure?” Peter asked, turning towards Johnny, his stupidly adorable hair poofing up like it always did after patrol.

“Yeah,” Johnny said, and Peter kissed his cheek and that was that.

-

They decided to tell everyone that it was Spider-Man and Johnny who were dating, but the Fantastic Four knew Peter’s identity anyways, so Peter sat next to him on their pristine couch, unmasked but in his suit, as Johnny’s family waited for them to say something.

“We’re together,” Johnny said, holding up their intertwined hands as proof. Ben laughed so hard he looked like he was going to take a shit, and Reed looked concerned. Sue crossed her arms.

“Johnny? Can I speak with you privately?” Sue asked, and Johnny followed her, wincing as Ben said: “So, you like boys, huh?” to Peter.

Sue led Johnny to his room and shut the door quietly.

“Do you think this is fair?” Sue hissed, poking Johnny’s chest. He stumbled a bit, and she socked him in the shoulder. “Jeez, Johnny, poor Peter’s halfway in love with you and you make him fake date you? What kind of logic _is that_? I know I teased you about Wyatt a bit too much, but this isn’t how you handle things, Jonathan Lowell Spencer Storm.”

“Sue, we aren’t fake dating,” Johnny protested.

“I honestly have nothing to say to you,” Sue said, fuming, and then she went back into the living room, Johnny following behind.

“Peter, I don’t know what Johnny offered you, but he just confirmed what I thought. You don’t have to keep on pretending to be his boyfriend,” Sue said, and then Ben clapped Johnny’s back roughly.

“Fake dating someone, now that’s new,” Ben said.

“We’re actually dating!” Johnny complained.

“No, you’re not,” Sue said. “Just drop it, okay? It isn’t funny.”

“Petey, c’mon, let’s go to my room,” Johnny said, and Peter stood up.

“Peter, you don’t have to,” Sue said. “I know he’s fake dating you so we won’t know about his real boyfriend. You can drop the act.”

“But I’m his real boyfriend,” Peter protested, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion. In all the ways Johnny thought this conversation would go, this wasn’t something he thought would happen. Ever.

“Peter, why don’t you head home,” Reed said, stretching so that his arm was in between Peter and Johnny. “Johnny, we’re going to have a talk about your recent behavior. I think I speak for everyone here when I say that I’m disappointed in you.”

Sue nodded along, and Peter mumbled goodbye and left for the elevator.

“Why don’t you have a seat, son,” Reed said.

Peter called MJ as he made his way home.

“Hey, tiger,” MJ said.

“I’m seeing someone,” Peter said, blurting it out before he could psych himself out of it.

“Girl or boy?”

“Boy,” Peter confirmed. “Johnny, actually.”

“Peter, no way are you dating Johnny. You’re too much of a wimp to tell him how you feel,” MJ said, and then she hung up, which was just so great of her. She was right, though. He was too much of a wimp, usually. But not around Johnny.

-

Aunt May was cooking when Peter entered through his old bedroom window, and he took off his mask nervously. She glanced at him suspiciously and continued to stir whatever she was making.

“I’ve got a boyfriend now,” Peter said, sitting on the back of the couch, mask in his hands.

“Bobby?”

“No, Aunt May,” Peter said.

“I always thought Bobby was a nice boy, Peter,” Aunt May said. “Wouldn’t be surprised if he was your new ‘bae,’ as the kids are saying.”

“Aunt May, we’re just friends,” Peter said, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

“You’re the one calling him your boyfriend, Peter,” said Aunt May, holding out a spoon with sauce for Peter to taste.

“Johnny’s my boyfriend, Aunt May, and the sauce is delicious,” Peter told her.

“Peter, I know you tend to deflect, but if Bobby’s your actual boyfriend you don’t need to say that Johnny is,” Aunt May said, taking back the spoon and adding in more herbs.

“I’ve never deflected in my life!” Peter exclaimed. “Johnny’s my boyfriend. For real. Bae. Squeeze. Honey. Boyfriend.”

“Make sure you aren’t hurting Johnny in the process of all this fake dating nonsense,” Aunt May said cheerfully, and Peter tugged on his mask and groaned.

“Gotta go, Aunt May,” Peter said.

“Say hi to Bobby for me!” Aunt May said, and Peter left before he exploded of frustration.

Johnny: _No one believes that you would date me_

_Aunt May thinks that I’m secretly into Bobby Drake_, Peter texted back, slipping into the alley to change into his civilian clothes.

Johnny: _I’m hotter than Bobby right?_

_Define hotter_ Peter said, tugging on his pants.

Johnny: _I hate you_

Johnny: _See you for movie night babe but don’t bring your secret boyfriend Bobby_

_As long as your other boyfriend Wyatt doesn’t come along with you_

Johnny: _Deal_

Gwen was next, and he tried to not wear his suit to her grave. It felt wrong, somehow, to wear it, like it was a barrier between Gwen and him, but that was how being Spider-Man felt, sometimes.

“Hey, Gwen. It didn’t feel right, not telling you about Johnny,” Peter said, sitting down across from her headstone. “But we’re together now, and he’s really great, Gwen. I think you’d be happy, even though you always say—said that no one deserves me. But I think he does. I think I don’t deserve him, actually, but no one does, I think. So, yeah.”

Gwen didn’t answer, but the Gwen in his head, the one who told him to be strong and get up every time he was knocked down, said _alright_.

“Everyone thinks we aren’t dating,” Peter told her. “But we are, and I really care about him, always have. Aunt May thinks I like Bobby, the Iceman dude? But it’s always been Johnny. Always.”

Gwen didn’t answer, but the silence was enough.

-

“Do you think Nightcrawler and Wolverine are together?” Johnny asked him, leaning into Peter, phone in front of his face. Peter was trying to watch the movie that Johnny picked out, like a good boyfriend, but Johnny was talking about Wolverine’s _love life_ instead.

“What?” Peter asked.

“They’re trending on Twitter,” Johnny said, and Peter ran his fingers through Johnny’s hair subconsciously. Johnny was warm, but he was always warm.

“I don’t even know what that means.”

“I know, Pete, and I forgive you.”

“Thanks?”

“You’re welcome,” Johnny said, and then he turned so that they were chest to chest, Johnny’s head resting over Peter’s heart. “I love you, you know?”

Peter smiled. “Love you too.”

-

“Don’t pay them any mind, Nat,” Sue told Natasha. “It’s some sort of twisted cry for attention.”

“We’re actually dating,” Peter said. “Not a lie.”

“Yeah,” Johnny piped in. “We even have sex.”

“Johnny!” Peter exclaimed, letting go of his hand to hit him on the shoulder. “You can’t just _say_ that.”

“And it’s really good,” Johnny said, grinning. One of the Young Avengers gave Johnny a high five. “Peter does this thing where he—”

Peter covered Johnny’s mouth with his hand before he finished his sentence. Johnny pressed his hips back into Peter and Peter let go and swung away before Johnny could embarrass him further.

“It’s not funny anymore, Johnny,” Sue snapped as Peter swung away, Johnny watching him go longer than he should have.

“I love him, Sue,” Johnny said.

“Johnny,” Sue sighed. “Then why are you in a fake relationship with him? That isn’t healthy. His aunt says that he’s got a crush on Bobby Drake.”

“We’re actually together Sue,” Johnny told her, but per usual, she didn’t take it seriously.

-

A month passed, and the Rhino was acting up again. A routine fight, usually, for Peter, and Johnny came along, to “see how the poor heroes do it.” Peter wanted to strangle him, sometimes.

But then the Rhino landed a good punch and Johnny was lying a pile of rubble, his breath shallow and eyes closed. Peter’s sense went off as the Rhino approached him, and Peter caught the Rhino off-guard, webbing him to the side of a building before running over to Johnny.

“Johnny,” Peter said, kneeling and stroking Johnny’s face. “Babe?”

Johnny didn’t respond, just opened his eyes and groaned.

“Hey, baby,” Peter said. “You with me?” Peter grabbed his hand and clutched it tightly. “C’mon, Johnny, say something. I need you. I love you, c’mon, pretty boy.”

“Sue,” Johnny wheezed out, and Peter turned to see Sue, Reed and Ben, levitating in the air on a force field.

Peter picked Johnny up gingerly and waited for Sue to say something, but she only sighed and lifted herself, Reed, and Ben higher into the air.

“Stupid Rhino,” Ben said.

“I’d have to agree,” Reed said thoughtfully.

Peter swung Johnny home.

-

Peter was sleeping, arms around Johnny, when Sue knocked and entered Johnny’s room.

“Hey, little brother,” Sue said. “I saw the way Peter protected you today. I’m really sorry I didn’t believe you before, when you tried to tell us.”

“S’ok,” Johnny said tiredly. Peter’s fingers gripped onto his shirt in his sleep. He felt protected, like Peter was going to make all the monsters under his bed go away.

“Johnny and I are in love, Susan,” Peter mumbled, long after Sue left Johnny’s room.

“Peter, she knows,” Johnny whispered.

"Wyatt would never treat you as good as I do," Peter mumbled.

"Yeah, don't think he's flexible enough to do that thing you do with—” 

"I hate you," Peter said, and then he went back to sleep, and Johnny listened to him snore for a few moments before he fell asleep too, and it was enough. For both of them.

**Author's Note:**

> i write other spideytorch stuff too so if you wanna read it that's cool too


End file.
